So Comes the Reaper
by peacelight24
Summary: Ruby's Semblance is exactly what it seems and so much more. Sort of a character study, but best described as a series of related one-shots. Rated T for Qrow's mouth.
1. Once Upon a Midnight Dreary

Qrow Branwen, supposedly a teacher at Signal Academy, was skipping class.

Well, actually, he'd called a substitute in because "he had to deal with a family emergency," but still.

Technically it was true—there was an emergency, and it was family. He just didn't think school administration would abide by his definition of the first.

See, a precious little girl was having a crisis. And Qrow was the one best-suited to help her.

Ruby Rose, at ten-years-old, had failed the entrance exam for Signal, effectively shattering every last one of her hopes and dreams.

Qrow knew it was bull. He'd seen the girl's potential himself. Sure she would need to work harder for the physical abilities, but she had spirit in spades and that was what counted when you got right down to it. She'd be fine once she figured out her Semblance and found a proper weapon. Hell, he'd been told the same thing once upon a time as well, and now he was probably the best hunter not currently heading an Academy.

He knew exactly what it felt like to be told one's dreams were unattainable. And so he knew exactly what Ruby needed to realize the rest of the world had sticks up their asses.

People liked boxes. People like him and Ruby defied those boxes and it would take a while before she would learn how to ignore the spite that generated.

He looked everywhere. She wasn't in her room, she wasn't by Yang, who was equally worried, and she wasn't at the library. Her favorite place to hang out was in the forest around the house, which caused her _doting uncle_ no small amount of anxiety, but she wasn't there either. Summer's grave was as lonely as Ironwood, and Qrow finally headed back to Signal to see if she was crying on Taiyang's shoulder, or perhaps gone into town to mope, but he didn't see her there either.

He was about to check the forest again, but decided to go a different route to the house. She might just be wandering aimlessly, and so it would be best to cover as much ground as possible.

Then he spotted it—a flash of red, dark clothes, combat boots.

There's his little rose.

She was in the training field. And she was…handling a bow?

Oh that was just a terrible idea.

He loved the little nutcase, but giving her sharp projectiles was a recipe for disaster.

…but this was actually a pretty interesting reaction to getting shot down, so he'd let her have at it.

Qrow hung back, and watched out of sight.

She clumsily knocked the arrow, held the bow inexpertly, and shakily tried to pull the drawstring back. She was doing it with poor form, and she only got to about half-draw before the string slipped, and the arrow fell awkwardly to the ground, not even sticking in the earth. He heard a hiss, and saw Ruby grip her left arm.

Ah. So the string had been taught enough to whip her forearm.

The little girl hastily picked up the arrow, and set the whole mess down off to the side. Qrow breathed a sigh of relief. No way was he going to stand here and watch the kid hurt herself.

Actually, now that he looked, there were quite a few weapons set off to the side.

…Huh. Was she…?

His suspicion was confirmed when she marched over to the giant weapons rack and plucked a broadsword from its cradle.

Qrow wasn't quite prepared for the pride that welled in his chest. He couldn't help it.

Turns out she didn't need him to tell her she had to get back up, keep going. She was doing it all by herself.

Well she was trying anyway. Just because she hadn't been very successful yet didn't mean she wouldn't be soon.

She swung the broadsword experimentally and nearly lopped off her own foot.

Qrow had to stop himself from stopping her. She needed to do this, obviously. Having him interrupt her would do more harm than good.

Still, it was hard. She was so tiny that even the scaled-down sword set her off balance, and she was holding it clumsily in her hands as she swung. The sight of the blade going too close to her face had him twitching.

Ruby, thankfully, seemed to realize this wasn't going to be the right weapon after a few clumsy attempts at a basic kata. She carefully set the sword next to the bow, and hovered over the remaining weapons. She picked up a katana. Qrow raised an eyebrow.

Raven had always been fond of the long blades. Perhaps Ruby would be the same…?

Ruby swung the thing once before setting it next to the sword.

Qrow couldn't help feeling a little relief at that.

And so it went. At one point he nearly had to rescue her from impaling herself on a mace since the ball was so heavy she nearly tipped over when she swung it. Thankfully she sidestepped before she could injure herself.

None of them were right.

Qrow could tell even from this distance. She was uncomfortable with the weapons, all of them. The quarter-staff seemed promising, but she kept swinging it like she expected more weight on the end, like a hammer or…

Nah. Probably just his imagination.

After all, there was no way she…

Finally, Ruby went for the last set of weapons on the rack. Qrow had to suck in a breath.

Those were paired daggers. Like…

Summer.

The woman had been utterly terrifying with her set of paired daggers. A demon. The mechanized weapons could mech-shift into an energy beam for long-distance fighting when she clamped the hilts together. She'd earned the nickname Ghost because of them, and of course the white cloak.

Ruby was not Summer. But the cloak, the red hair, the wide silver eyes, the tiny little frame…

God, with those daggers in hand it was almost like his team leader was back.

Ruby stepped over to the practice dummy. Qrow held his breath.

She hefted the daggers, left thumb on top of the pommel, right thumb by the dagger's hilt, as if to ensure she left no stone unturned. She took a deep breath, tiny lungs filling and mouth set in a determined frown.

She crouched in a starting position. She spun and—

Well. It could have gone worse.

The left dagger had been ripped from her hand as it struck the dummy, now stuck in the wood. The right one hovered uncertainly in front of her, now looking much more uncomfortable and clumsy in her hand.

Qrow breathed. In some ways, he was sad she wouldn't carry the same weapons as her mother. In other ways…

In other ways there was some relief that it wasn't about to become harder to look at her without pain and regret and longing.

Ruby's hand shook a little. Qrow tensed, waiting for the inevitable.

With a helpless sort of cry that tugged at the man's heart, the ten-year-old hurled the dagger across the training grounds. It bounced off the ground awkwardly, as it landed on its side, as if to mock her rage.

She stomped over to the weapons rack again, and this time he could see her swiping at her eyes angrily. The sight of the empty rack seemed to enrage her, and she angrily kicked the side.

"Why—won't—you—work!" She panted angrily, each word punctuated with a sturdy combat boot.

Qrow decided it was time to intervene. He walked around the entrance, and came up behind the little girl. Normally she would have noticed him by now, but today she was too distracted.

"Well now," Qrow hummed gently, "This looks like a pretty mess."

They were nonsense words, meant to alert her to his presence more than anything. The red cloak whipped as she spun.

He was not expecting her to barrel into him, tiny arms wrapping around his waist. He was not expecting tearstains on his shirt, or shaking shoulders that covered whimpers and sobs. He was not expecting her to hide her face, or for her steel-toed boots to end up standing on his own.

He was not expecting any of it, but got it all anyway.

He put a hand on her head, stroking the soft hair, and maneuvered her so that he could kneel and give her a real hug.

She clung to his neck and there was a new tear stain on his shirt.

He did not speak but held her while she cried. She was so like him sometimes, and he knew what she needed most was a chance to feel safe for a second, despite how she felt about her own abilities. So he held her, rubbed her back, and didn't make a sound.

So much pain in that little body. Qrow held her close and tried not to think about how right it was that this little girl was coming to him for comfort, that he'd be the one to help her pick herself up…

He clutched her a little tighter, tangled his fingers in her short hair.

No. He could think about this…after (1). For now, he was just an uncle with a niece who needed taking care of.

Eventually the sobbing stopped. Ruby continued to cling to him though, so instead of pulling back to look at her he simply hummed, and lifted the kid up into his arms. He grunted as her legs automatically wrapped around his waist. One or both of them was getting too old for this.

Her. Definitely her.

He walked her over to a nearby bench and sat her down. She moved to sit next to him but remained hidden under his arm, tucked into his side.

He couldn't help but be reminded of some tiny bird hovering under the wing of a protective parent. The thought made him smile, and think of Raven. She used to hide him under her arm, when the streets got too rough (2).

He wondered if she'd found another bird to cradle or if she'd given up on the whole endeavor.

His sister was a complicated person.

A much simpler soul sat beside him though. One much easier to help.

Shit. He needed a drink.

Not in front of the kiddo though. He may be an alcoholic but he was enough of a hypocrite to tell the kid not to do the same.

He sighed, running his free hand through his hair.

"Okay, kid. Talk to me."

She started to speak without lifting her face. While cute, it was also impossible to hear.

He poked her gently. "Eyes up, munchkin," he said affectionately.

She finally looked at him, and the silver eyes—Summer's eyes—were still bloodshot. Her pale skin was puffy and blotchy, and her hair was a mess.

It made his chest throb painfully.

She looked lost though, as if unsure of what to say. Those eyes were huge and uncertain.

"Start from the beginning," He prompted. Adorably, she took a deep breath and began speaking in a rush, as if testing herself.

"I went in to take the test and at first the instructors were really nice, they said I was smart and I had a large aura reserve." The little girl frowned, "But then one of the instructors—that really mean old lady with thick glasses—told me I was too small!" She said it shrilly, her voice so high-pitched with indignation that he almost cracked a smile at her youth. "I told them I wanted to be a huntress, and she said I'd have to be really, really good. Like, better than everyone else in the entire world!" Her eyes were impossibly large, like they were eating her face. "Is that true? 'Cause I don't know if I can. You know?"

"Hmm…" hummed Qrow, giving her question its due consideration. "Well it certainly wouldn't hurt to be the best, but I think as long as you're the best you can be you'll be okay." Qrow looked her in the eye seriously as he said this next bit. "After all, I happen to think _your_ best is pretty good." He ruffled her hair again for good measure. He knew exactly who Ruby was talking about. The weapons proctor, Ms. Patty Squelch (3). Horrible woman, and everyone hated her, but she'd been at the Academy too long to get rid of her. Regardless, they'd be having a _talk_ later.

Ruby grinned, but then her face fell. "That lady didn't think so. She told me I was too small," She said it for the second time, as if that would make it carry more weight in her uncle's eyes. "And I wasn't proficient in a combat style, so I couldn't be admitted into the school." The tiny face fell and Qrow had to squash the impulse to find Patty the new Pincushion and impale her with a dull knife. "And eventually she told me to leave and that the exam wouldn't be completed, so I'd automatically fail."

 _Murder is wrong_ , Qrow chanted in his head. _Murder is wrong, murder is wrong_.

"So then I came out here," She gestured to the training ground childishly. "Because I figured if I found a weapon I was better with I'd be able to show her. And then she'd _have_ to let me finish, right?" She said it so innocently, her legs kicking out into open space childishly, her arms gesturing with her words. Then her shoulders dropped. "Except none of them were any good, so I can't take the test." He was proud of her when her lip didn't quiver and her eyes didn't get watery. She was such a strong little girl. She turned her eyes on him again, "And if I can't take the test, I can't get into the school! And if I don't get into Signal, I won't get into Beacon. And if I don't get into Beacon, I don't—"

The kid cut herself off, unwilling to even finish.

He ruffled her hair again. "What weapons did you use in the test?" he asked because he was honestly curious. She'd tried so many different weapons just now he had to wonder what the kid thought she'd be best at.

Morosely, she pulled out two metal gauntlets from somewhere on her person. He recognized the design as Taiyang's, but made for smaller wrists, with some modifications. Where could she have—

Oh. Yang was in the midst of designing her first prototypes. Taiyang had bragged incessantly to literally everyone about how his daughter was taking after him. Qrow had not only gotten it from him but also his female students, who cooed over how _cute_ it was that Professor Xiao Long was bragging about his daughter, as they tended to do every time Taiyang brought either kid up.

Professor Xiao Long was a smug SOB, that was for sure.

The salient point here, however, was that Ruby apparently thought she should be a melee fighter.

The thought kind of gave him a heart attack.

The kid was just so _tiny_.

It was also completely unsuited to her body type and personality. Yang was built like her father in some ways. Broad shoulders, and strong arms and legs. Athletic. Like a wrestler or a boxer.

Ruby, on the other hand, was much lither. Like a gazelle rather than a lion. She was built for speed, for sprints. Not power and endurance. Those gauntlets would be more dangerous to Ruby than to anyone else.

"Hm." He hummed theatrically. Then he shook his head. "Nope, not feeling it."

Ruby looked almost hurt, which wasn't what he wanted at all. "But Yang and Daddy use them. I have to too!"

Qrow ignored the pain in his chest. "You aren't Yang, and you're not your father," he said bluntly, honestly. "You need a weapon that will work for you, not one you borrowed from someone else."

Ruby was only ten, but he knew she appreciated someone being straightforward and honest with her. Living only with Yang and Taiyang for most of one's life tended to do that to someone.

She looked hopeful for a second, and then her face fell. "But what other weapons are there? I tried _all_ of them." She gestured to the rest of the arena, to indicate that she had, in fact, tried all the weapons there were.

Qrow scratched his scruffy chin, teasingly, "Now that is a tough one. Hm, let's see…did you try…nunchakus?" The girl's eyes widened, surprise and new hope rising in them. Frankly he kinda hoped it didn't turn out to be nunchakus. The idea was utterly terrifying. "How about…a tanto?" She shook her head fiercely. "No? Well what about a spear? Or a javelin?" She shook her head again, starting to smile. He poked her in the side. "Well then, I'd say there's probably still hope for you, kid. Don't look so down."

She nodded, but still looked a bit disappointed. "Maybe you won't be a blade person at all," he suggested, "Maybe you're strictly a gun person."

It was a nice idea some ways, even if he sort of doubted it. If Ruby was strictly a long-range fighter, there was less chance for maiming or other such injuries. If she was interested, he certainly wouldn't stop her.

To his surprise, Ruby straightened and looked almost hurt. "But Daddy says guns are for people who haven't got real skill!"

Qrow had to take a moment to process that, wanting to make sure he'd heard correctly.

It was amazing how many homicidal rages this kid was inspiring in a single conversation.

"Ruby, I'm going to let you in on a secret." He said once he was sure his voice wouldn't scare her. He waited for her to look at him before continuing. "Sometimes, my brother-in-law can be full of it." Full of absolute bullshit, more like. "He just gets carried away sometimes and completely forgets that people who rely solely on guns have absolutely destroyed him in fights before." Of course this was back at Beacon, before Taiyang stopped losing fights.

Ruby's eyes widened, "Really?" She asked almost breathlessly.

"Really," he promised. He'd have to have a talk with Taiyang soon about the ideas he was putting in the girls' heads. This was almost unconscionable in their world, and the girls weren't quite old enough to understand the man was just boasting. They shouldn't head into a battle thinking the enemy wasn't worth taking seriously because they had a gun instead of a sword.

The little girl seemed contemplative, a wrinkle appearing adorably between her eyebrows as she thought.

Qrow simply watched, let her come to her own conclusions.

"…I think a gun would be cool," Ruby said finally, and then quickly added, "But it would mech-shift into something else!"

Qrow shrugged, "Whatever works for you works for me, kiddo."

She grinned and then all of a sudden flung her arms around his waist again. He raised an eyebrow but let her stay there without an interrogation. Kid would speak when she was ready, and he wouldn't force her to speak before.

"Uncle Qrow…" she whispered, "Thanks for believing in me."

He felt his eyes soften. "Anytime, kid."

She leaned back to look up at him, grinning, sadness and uncertainty removed for the moment, and it made him feel almost giddy.

Almost.

Still, he could tell there was something else bothering her.

"What else kid? What's eating you?" He placed a hand on her head, and she had to crane her neck to see him. She smiled and shoved Qrow's hand off.

"Uncle _Qrow_!" she yipped delightedly, but then stopped, her face falling a bit as doubt returned. "Uncle Qrow…do you think it's weird that I haven't figured out what my Semblance is yet?"

Qrow frowned. Actually, he hadn't really thought about it. She was so young and small, the thought of her actually being ready for that was sort of terrifying.

Most people first activated their Semblance around puberty, assuming their Aura'd been unlocked. Yang'd done so a few months earlier, probably because she ran around picking fights so much. If their Aura was unlocked later, it was anyone's guess when a Semblance would show up.

He looked at the insecure ten-year-old and shook his head. "Talk to me when you're twenty. For now, you're right on track, kiddo." His eyes narrowed. "Why do you ask though?"

The little shoulders relaxed. "Oh. Good." She frowned. "That mean old lady told me I should have one before I enter the Academy."

He frowned. Had he or Taiyang pissed the hag off recently or something? The entrance requirements were nowhere near that high for ten year olds. And now that she'd decided this, Ruby would be unable to enter otherwise. The harpy had her claws in too many higher-ups at the school for them to claim unfair treatment. Both he and Taiyang could lose their jobs and then they would have to leave Patch, probably go to Ozpin for work, leaving the girls alone far too often…

Nope, not an option.

This…this was going to be more problematic than the weapon thing. With that he could have trained her up just enough to look competent and then send her merrily of to the exam. With this…no doubt about it, she needed to have a triggerable Semblance before she could retake it.

Alright then. Time to activate a Semblance.

Qrow ran a hand through his hair, contemplating. The first time he'd activated his Semblance Raven had been falling down a cliff. It was a life-threatening situation fraught with the potential for severe emotional trauma, and Qrow had no desire to inflict such a thing on Ruby. He'd only been ten, and he'd gotten horrible nightmares about it for years afterward.

He was a little hesitant about forcing it anyways. This was something intimate and important, and often revealed some very disturbing and profound things about one's own soul. Things that changed the way somebody looked at the world, and at themselves. Yang and Taiyang were incredibly lucky—they were both so straightforward, so direct, that their Semblances, though different, revealed nothing they didn't already know about themselves.

By comparison, people like him and Ruby were…well much more complicated, in this regard. It was possible Ruby was simply too young to know what it was.

Hm. Well, he wasn't going to traumatize her into activating her Semblance. If Ruby's soul refused to give up its secrets through gentle prodding, he was just going to have the kid wait a year before trying to get into Signal again. Hopefully with a different instructor. Or maybe he'd go with her to a nearby school so she'd get the chance to grow a little more before trying again.

Hell, he'd train her himself if he had to and march her up to Ozpin's door. Ruby wanted to be a huntress, so a huntress she would be. As long as she was willing to work for it, of course.

Honestly, denying Summer Rose's daughter a place in a battle school because she was a ten-year-old who didn't know how to activate a Semblance? It was the height of lunacy.

"Alright kid. If you need a Semblance, let's activate your Semblance."

Wide silver eyes lit up. "Really? Cool!"

He grinned at her, standing and pulling her with him. "Alright, first things first. What is a Semblance?"

"A reflection of your soul," she answered promptly. "Like a mirror."

He nodded. "Close." This part was important, so he crouched low, to be even with her face, "It's a reflection of your _whole_ soul, in the form of a power." He tapped her chest, right over her breastbone. "A Semblance doesn't hide your secret thoughts from the world. It reflects everything about your true self, and makes it available to you in the form of power, for the whole world to see." He looked her in the eye. "It's your nature made apparent. And sometimes the truth hurts."

Ruby's eyes were wide, but she looked captivated rather than afraid. He couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

"So to actually activate it, you have to learn what's driving you. What makes you, Ruby Rose, get up every day? When you answer that we'll be getting somewhere."

Ruby shrugged. "That's easy! I get up every morning because sleeping is scary!"

He was about to smile at the childish innocence, and then noticed something odd.

Ruby…Ruby wasn't afraid of the dark. In fact, she loved it. So that meant… "…What?"

"Well I have a lot of nightmares. So when I wake up in the morning I get up," she said as if it was of little consequence.

Qrow blinked, fighting for calm and forcing himself not to react for fear of scaring her. "How long have you been having nightmares?" And why hadn't he known about it?

Ruby looked confused now. "I've had them for a while. Since Mom died."

Something clenched inside him. Dear God, let this not be what he thought it was. "Does Taiyang know?"

She had to think about that, which made him think the answer was negative. "I don't think so. Yang and I slept with him a few times after it happened, and he knew then, but he hasn't asked me about it in a while. So probably not." She smiled though. "Yang knows though! Yang lets me sleep with her when I have a bad nightmare and I don't want to wait until morning to get up."

Her calm distressed him more than tears would have. "What are your nightmares about?"

Now she grew subdued. "Well, they're about mommy dying," she whispered. "I never see her face, but I see her cloak and there's always a lot of…blood." She shivered. "And there's always a bunch of Grimm around her. Some of them are dead too, but some of them aren't. And I keep trying to get to her, get her to wake up, but there's always too much blood…"

She was far too small to be dealing with that on her own. They both were. Why did children always take such things on themselves when there were adults who would love to take their pain?

How did she even know what Grimm looked like? The only time she'd ever seen one was…right after Summer died. When Yang…

Oh no.

That incident had happened in close succession with Summer's death, a few days apart. Taiyang, in his infinite wisdom, thought Yang was old enough to know, and hadn't waited for Summer to return before trying, thinking it would give the kid time to assimilate the information.

However, the little blonde had then suffered not one but two losses within a few days' time. She ran off on an idiotic search for Raven and took Ruby with her.

That was the day, in Qrow's opinion, that would always make his decision to become a huntsman worth it. If he'd been even a little bit later, if he'd taken one wrong turn…

Well. He probably wouldn't have either of his two most precious people now.

Then a horrible thought crossed his mind, and even though he didn't want to ask he needed to know. "…Are those the bad ones?" He queried, hoping beyond hope there was nothing worse plaguing her.

His fears were confirmed when the little girl shook her head, and looked truly uneasy for the first time. "The bad ones are…worse." He did not say anything, just waited for her to continue. "It's the same except the Grimm…they _eat_ …" Ruby cut herself off and shook her head.

Qrow looked away, and allowed himself to close his eyes it the onslaught of pain in his chest. They'd never found Summer's body. And there'd been…evidence of scavenging at a site near her mission zone. They'd never really know what happened to Summer, but the prevailing theory was that she'd been overrun by Grimm, and…well. Ruby's nightmare was more than sufficient to explain that horror. What he didn't know was how Ruby'd learned that particular tidbit. They'd never told either of the girls.

He opened his eyes and turned to the little girl. She looked uncertain, uneasy. "Why didn't you tell Taiyang or me about the dreams?" What little girl just holds that in?

Ruby shrugged. "Mommy makes you guys sad. Yang says it's because you guys loved her so much, so she said I should just come to her when I was scared."

Qrow sighed. Yang was sharp. And far too much like his sister in some ways than he was comfortable with.

"Yang's nice to try to protect us," Qrow said slowly, "But it hurts us more when you don't tell us important things." Ruby looked sufficiently apologetic. "you don't need to hide this stuff from us to spare your feelings. It's _our_ job to make _you_ guys feel better."

Ruby's eyes widened, remorse disappearing in favor of excitement. "Does that mean you'll read stories to me now?" At his somewhat bewildered look, she elaborated. "That's what Yang does when I have a nightmare. She reads stories."

Well fuck. How had they missed this? It's been almost seven years since Summer died, and they'd somehow managed to not realize Yang and Ruby had been mothering themselves.

"How often does Yang read you stories?" He asked gently, _How often do your nightmares wake you up?_

Ruby grinned. "Every night! She's the best big sister ever!"

Fuck.

His girls were just so freaking brave.

Were he and Taiyang that useless?

"Yeah, yeah she is." He could think of another big sister who acted like that, who tried to make life better than it was. "What…what stories does she read you?" He asked because he was too shell-shocked to say anything else.

Ruby's grin could have blinded the sun, were it a person. "The ones with heroes and dragons and huntresses! And thieves and adventures and good guys and bad guys and epic fights!" she threw her arms up in the air to emphasize her point.

Qrow couldn't quite seem to gain control of his damn heart. How could a kid be so cheerful and optimistic if darkness was making such a grab for her?

"Why those stories, kid?" He asked quietly, half to stop the bombshells and half to bring the conversation back to its starting point.

Something blazed in silver eyes, and Qrow could swear Ruby's whole being stilled. "I want to be like them. The heroes in the books. That way nobody ever has to end up like Mommy, and nobody ends up without mommies. Or daddies or uncles," she added, almost as an afterthought.

He had to stop his hands from shaking.

As soon as this kid was on her way to her little test he and Taiyang were going to get so drunk they would need to be carried home. Or at least Taiyang would, the lightweight pansy.

"So how are you going to do it?" He asked, honing in on the fact that this was where he needed to bring her awareness.

The stillness in her little body morphed to hardness. "I'm going to be a huntress. And I'm going help people and kill the Grimm. All of them."

Such venom in those three little words. Qrow felt a tiny shiver of something like fear roll down his spine. Not of the girl, but of what all this meant for her.

"Why, kid," hating himself and knowing at the same time that she needed this, perhaps more than he'd realized.

"Because…because…" she shrugged helplessly, painfully, "Because in my dreams there's always a lot of blood. And I don't like it because it's mommy's."

He had to stop himself from reaching for the comforting pommel of his blade. Instead he reached for his knee and squeezed until he thought something might pop.

"You know, Ruby, your mother used to have a saying about that." He looked her in the eye, controlled his expression as best he could. "Every time someone spilled blood, she'd say it." He paused, to ensure he had her interest, and because he didn't want to continue. He hadn't been prepared for this, hadn't expected this little girl's soul needed something like _this_ to calcify into something harder. He'd expected love and kindness, sure, but no hatred.

Her mouth was open slightly in anticipation, cheeks flushed from wind and excitement. "What did she say?" she goaded breathlessly. God, he thought, this cup was too much in particular (4).

Qrow tried not to appear as broken as he was, and said the words she needed to cope with the blackness tying down her soul. "She used to say blood was red like roses."

He could see it the moment it registered, knew that a ten-year-old's soul was assimilating something vital—he could feel it in her suddenly active aura, the agitated string of restless realizations as Ruby was fundamentally changed.

Some small, selfish part of him wanted to take it back. Keep the little girl a child and set her on a path to something safer. But he couldn't, and he wasn't enough of a hypocrite to say she shouldn't be a huntress. And if she was going to be a huntress, he was going to make damn sure she was as well-equipped as she could possibly be.

Silver eyes were wide, unblinking, and unseeing, pupils expanded and contracted as her heartbeat sped and her nervous system fired erratically. "Red…like…roses." She whispered.

And then there was a spike in Aura, and a shower of…rose petals?

Ruby was no longer standing in front of him.

"What…?" He spun, looking for a black and red blur. He found her next to the weapons rack, looking dazed, swaying on her feet about twenty yards away.

He cursed under his breath and jogged over to her before she could hurt herself.

"Rubes?" He asked quietly as he approached, once again crouching in front of her and this time placing a hand on her shoulder.

A huge smile blossomed on her face. "I did it!" A wrinkle appeared on her forehead, a spike of aura, and…

And there was a shower of rose petals as she appeared once more by the bench.

He blinked. He'd been watching that time and he hadn't seen her move. She was…

"Are you teleporting?" He wondered aloud. Either that or she was terrifyingly fast.

The tiny child grinned broadly. "I'm running! Watch."

A spike in aura, a burst of petals, and—

And she was standing beside him again.

He hadn't even seen her move.

Oh thank God, she wasn't going to be like Yang.

He loved his blonde niece to bits, and her fighting style frankly scared him. Ruby would be much better at dodging, staying away from big hits. That was good. Ruby was more fragile than Yang.

To be fair, most people were.

He had to stop himself from smiling at her excitement. He was the mercurial uncle, the mercurial uncle!

"You're pretty quick," He offered.

She smiled "Yeah!" She concentrated again. He frowned.

"Wait, Ruby, you're not used to using your Semblance yet, you're going to—"

Too late, the burst of petals came and she was off again.

…only to trip about ten feet away and fall to her knees, clutching her head.

"Ow…" She moaned. "Why does my head hurt?"

He sighed and smiled fondly where she couldn't see. "It's a symptom of Aura exhaustion," Bending down he scooped her up and started walking home with her. Kid would probably pass out pretty quick here, with that level of depletion. "It's hard to tell when you're exhausting your Aura. When you're older you'll get a handheld status meter. But for now you just have to be careful. The symptoms don't come until after you've already exhausted yourself."

Ruby groaned and shifted in his arms. "But I want to practice!"

Qrow shook his head, smirking, "Later, when you're better." He could tell she still wasn't happy about it though. "Who knows? Maybe I'll even train you myself."

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Really? Will you teach me how to use a scythe?"

Something squeezed his chest again. "Why not? I've got no one better to teach it to." Plus it would work well with her Semblance, he realized. Harness that speed and give her a long reach and…well she'd be untouchable.

For the third time that day, he was unprepared for the skinny arms flung around his neck.

"You're the best Uncle Qrow!" She squealed in his ear. Then she immediately cringed. "Ow…headache."

He chuckled lowly. This kid sure was entertaining as all hell.

She quieted a little then, and settled in to let him carry her back to the house. It was only about two miles away, and Qrow didn't really mind the walk.

He got to the gate of the training arena before she spoke again. "Wait…I left the weapons out…"

"Leave 'em," He told her. "Someone else will pick them up." Someone who hadn't been through an emotional upheaval of epic proportions today.

She breathed contentedly. "Okay," she whispered sleepily, and promptly fell asleep on his shoulder. He shifted her in his grip so her hood covered her, kept her warm. By comparison, Ruby's cloak was much more functional than his. It came in handy at times.

Meh. His was cooler.

With his somewhat unwieldy bundle cradled against his chest and her head resting on his shoulder, he made his way home.

But before the grounds were out of sight, he remembered something, his eyes sweeping over the place. Rose petals fluttered in the wind, swirling in little cyclones around the dusty arena. There was something ominous about them, which spoke to something far darker than their benign presence suggested.

If his arms tightened around the kid a little more, well no one was around to see it.

Ruby snuffled against his neck. He turned back to the road and toward the house. He'd have a talk with Taiyang about their girls, and another with Yang once he was home, about coming to them with problems, and about keeping secrets from people who cared.

Evidently he was just enough of a hypocrite to say so.

* * *

(1) This relates to a headcannon of mine, in which Qrow is actually Ruby's father. If you don't buy into it, you can think of it as Qrow having an unrequited love thing going for Summer. If you don't buy into that, think of it as him wanting a family of his own but not believing he deserves one. Tragic, I know.

(2) I get the feeling Raven and Qrow did not have the easiest of childhoods. Call me crazy, but the man is an alcoholic for a reason. That could be due to adult trauma (of which I'm sure he has plenty), but for the purposes of this fic, Qrow and Raven were on their own. Raven was Qrow's Yang, and took care of both of them.

(3) An OC based on my new boss. Her name is Patty. I hate her.

(4) This is a play on an important scene in the Bible. Luke 22:42, Jesus asks God to spare him from the upcoming crucifixion. In the same manner, Qrow begs to not have to destroy Ruby's childhood.  
(It's more headcannon of mine that Qrow and possibly Ruby are at least passingly familiar with the Bible since they wear crosses and literally no one else does. I'm not saying either of them are 'Christian' persay, but rather that the crosses in the RWBY universe signify a certain control over death, which is incidentally what they symbolize in a very abstract way to Christians. I think it's being used as a device to further the metaphor of Ruby and Qrow as Grimm Reapers, the most hilarious character design pun ever. However, for the purpose of this fic, Qrow has some knowledge of the Bible, probably doesn't believe in God, but this part of the story resonates with him.)

So. In case you haven't realized yet, this is a story about Ruby's Semblance.

You see, unlike the rest of the characters in the show, Ruby's makes very little sense considering her personality, at least in my opinion. Why speed? Why the roses? I get that you could say it was a link to her mother, but Winter very clearly states that all Semblances are perfectly unique (except the Schnee family's, of course). Basically, I'm trying to explain what drives Ruby, what motivates her. Partly because I'm sick of the too-stupid-and-naiive-to-give-up hero trope, and partly because it really doesn't make sense. Not to me, at least.

That said, this will diverge from cannon a little. Not drastically, just enough so that I can make the things make sense. Because again, it doesn't. I don't want to give too much away though, so yeah.

This will be the only chapter from Qrow's POV. If he seems a little OOC, it's because he's talking to a ten-year-old. Qrow is a surprisingly emotional man, I found, at least when I was writing him. I think he feels deeply and almost cripplingly. If you think it sounds like he hates Taiyang, I think it's because part of him does. They have a very complex relationship, especially if I'm right about Qrow being Ruby's father. Taiyang is both the person he hates most in the world and his best friend and last surviving teammate. It's very difficult to handle, I think, and it's only because of the girls that they keep trying to balance the scales.

The next chapter is Weiss's, taking place their second or third year of Beacon.

Review if you want to. If you have criticism I'd love to hear it, and even if it's a flame I won't freak out, so review with a name so I can respond and discuss.


	2. Fantastic Terrors Never Felt Before

So with this installment, I kind of...bent cannon possibly to breaking point. I don't know, it's kind of a matter of personal opinion. I took a lot of liberties with the inner workings of the Beacon facilities, the way classes are conducted, and various other things. I think I explain everything, but if you have a question please ask!

Basically, what happened with this is, I started writing this Summer 2015 and finished it in December. This fic is complicated to write in the sense that each chapter is intended to be a stand-alone one-shot, and yet build off of one another. So this chapter builds off of the last one, but it is also it's own story. This chapter is far less complete than the previous one, though astute readers might have noticed there were several questions left unanswered last time, which should be revealed throughout the fic.

Speaking of, I'm currently rehashing the last half of this fic to be more canon compliant with Volume 3. It's AU, for sure, but it's not completely disregarding canon. I'm just...picking and choosing. I'm not even sure I'm going to keep the silver-eyed warrior thing. The way I've conceived Ruby's Semblance makes her powerful enough on her own. But yeah.

Also, I think I mentioned in the author's note last chapter that this chapter takes place in their second year of Beacon, which according to Season 3 is not happening. So instead this takes place in their second semester, between Volumes 2 and 3.

* * *

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Valkyrie, I implore you to avoid damaging the arena beyond the minimum level necessary to exercise your combat prowess!"

Personally, Weiss thought Goodwitch was fighting a lost cause. Upon being randomly selected to fight each other, Yang and Nora had given each other identical thrilled grins, shared a high-five, and raced down to the arena floor as fast as humanly possible. They each fulfilled the same role on their respective teams—the melee, brute-force adrenaline junkie who excelled in short-range fighting—and their respective monstrous strengths were always going to take a toll on the surroundings when pitted against each other. The two of them did enough damage on their own—Goodwitch should just be grateful the building hadn't collapsed.

In the center of the ring, Yang's right fist met the flat of Magnhild, and the force of their attacks made stone crack beneath their feet, as a crater formed from their blows. Weiss considered the structural soundness of the arena, and the no-doubt countless battles that'd taken place here, and prepared herself to fire protective glyphs around the audience members. Just in case.

The two girls sprung back as the momentum of their attacks ricocheted back on them, bouncing off of one another. Weiss caught a glimpse of Yang's face, and was unsurprised to see the ferocious smile, indicative of her adrenaline-fueled joy.

Weiss sort of understood. She felt a similar thrill whenever she found an opponent whose attacks were precision-based, like her own. It was extremely satisfying to best an opponent who sought to master the same skills as oneself. She just didn't understand the appeal of breaking bones. She'd much rather just end it in one well-placed blow.

On the other side of the arena, Nora wore a similar expression. She supposed, for people as physically strong as Yang and Nora, it was hard to find someone to really test their strength. A fight like this was probably absolutely exhilarating.

The Schnee heiress glanced at Professor Goodwitch. The blonde woman had a critical, and somewhat resigned look on her face. She guessed the professor understood their need to test themselves as well—which was probably the only reason she didn't rescramble the names to avoid this spar. Goodwitch was the type to mitigate disaster if she couldn't stop the storm completely, which was probably why she was having Yang and Nora duke it out where she could call for medical assistance.

Weiss took a moment to evaluate the two girls in front of her. At the beginning of the fight, Yang was just a bit stronger than Nora—but Valkyrie was just a bit faster, which meant the hammer connected with its target more often than Yang's fists did. The problem was, Yang's semblance just allowed her to continue getting stronger with every punch. Yang'd nearly doubled her strength by now and every punch Nora took drained her about twice as much as a swing of her hammer did Yang. Nora's semblance was rather useless in this fight—Yang didn't use lightning-based attacks, and the indoor arena didn't make for good changes in atmospheric pressure. Both girls preferred close combat, but if forced, Yang could do mid-range well. Nora, on the other hand, was a very powerful long-range fighter.

All in all, they were evenly matched.

Weiss glanced at their respective aura meters. Yang had twenty percent of her tank left. Nora was at thirty. The fail-line was at ten percent.

The winner would be the one who landed the next hit—and it was going to be a doozy.

Next to her, Ruby trembled in her seat, and Weiss could tell from the way she was sitting on her hands and biting her lower lip that she was doing her best to avoid cheering on her sister. Goodwitch frowned on audience participation in the classroom setting, and Ruby was notoriously bad at keeping her mouth shut where her teammates and friends were concerned. However today she seemed fairly in control of herself, if as overly dramatic as usual.

Weiss glanced back at the arena, where both girls were charging up for their final attack.

Yang pulsed with energy. Weiss had to admit, the amount of aura Yang possessed was impressive. She'd seen her teammate fly through large buildings before and land on her feet like she hadn't even felt it. The air pressure around the girl was obviously dropping—her yellow mane flew up off of her shoulders, and the blood-red eyes were visible even in the top row of the stands. Yang's body glowed, fire whipping out from her feet and scorching the packed earth. The feral smile was still in place as she pounded her fists together in front of her, Ember Cecelia spouting flame against her knuckles.

On the other side of the arena, Nora did the same—her aura expelled pink energy rather than gold, but the result was the same. The sucking air pressure whipped her clothes and she twirled Magnhild deftly in her right hand, building momentum. There was a crazed light in Nora's eyes that was missing from Yang's, and Weiss was reminded of the stories from before the Grimm—of people who experienced a bloodlust in battle which gave them unimaginable strength, but the exertion often killed them. Berserkers. Nora looked like she wouldn't mind that kind of death, if she could just win this one fight (1).

For a pregnant moment in which Weiss was sure Goodwitch gave up any hope of not having to rebuild the arena, the two girls just stared at each other—a silent promise to match full strength with full strength, respect for their opponents' abilities too great to do otherwise. The air crackled with ozone as Yang burned and Nora sparked with her internal lightning.

By some unspoken cue, the two girls launched themselves at each other—each charged fully for this one final attack. Weiss didn't dare turn her eyes from the battle, but her peripheral vision saw that their auras were dropping as they closed in—a sure sign that the boundaries of their auras were meeting and combating before their physical bodies could.

Nora's hammer was swinging up from behind her like some grotesque game of whack-a-mole. Yang lunged to one knee to get under it, raising her left gauntlet to protect her head and catch the brunt of the blow while her right arm snuck under to deliver a searing blow to Nora's chin.

Magnhild met the left side of Ember Cecelia, at the same moment the gauntlet's pair connected with Nora's chin. The energetic girl's head whipped back and she let go of the hammer's shaft, but the damage was done. Even as Nora's body sailed, there was a horrible screech of metal as Magnhild ruined the gauntlet, and a grunt as the force of the blow broke Yang's left arm. Nora flew into the wall, cratering its smooth surface—almost forty yards from where Yang's blow met her mandible.

The timer blew, warning alarms shrieking as both girls' aura meters dropped well below what was considered safe—near two percent in Yang's case, six for Nora.

The arena was utterly destroyed.

Cracks radiated from under Yang's feet all the way to the buttressed walls, as she held her final lunging pose. Weiss appreciated the perfect form and balance, even with her broken arm and bloodied wrist as metal dug into her skin. The wall Nora'd run into was about to collapse on top of her, and Weiss saw Goodwitch flick her wrist to prevent the girl from being crushed, but it was still somewhat precarious. The force of their blows had shaken the stands—she wouldn't be surprised if it shook the foundations of the school itself. The sand of the arena had been compressed into an almost glassy surface with the heat and electricity brushing over silicon. One of the pillars supporting the ceiling was separating ominously from the wall, and Weiss could tell it was only the back-up magic that kept it from collapsing on the student body completely.

All in all, Goodwitch had her work cut out for her.

No one spoke. Finally, Yang dropped to both knees and promptly passed out. Nora didn't move.

" _Honestly_ ," Goodwitch expressed exasperatedly—and somewhat fondly if truth be told. "I don't think I've ever met two more bone-headed girls in my life. And all this for a draw and two trips to the infirmary."

Goodwitch alerted medical—it was protocol, Weiss knew. She read the handbook last summer before classes started. Then the prim and collected huntress scanned the audience. "Miss Rose, Mister Arc, as these girls' leaders I suggest you come help me attend—oh!"

Predictably, as soon as she'd been granted permission to go help Yang, Ruby was at her side—semblance activated and roses fluttering prettily around her as she knelt next to her sister, peeling the pieces of the mangled gauntlet away from her the girl's arm. Juane hurried as well, but at a more normal pace, checking her for major spinal injuries with his aura before pulling her away from the uncertain wall.

"Well?" Goodwitch asked, "Report."

"Minor concussion and some bruising, ma'am, as well as a fractured jaw," Juane replied, gentlemanly and surprisingly calm. Weiss supposed after checking injuries on teammates enough times it lost the edge of panic.

"Miss Valkyrie is lucky she didn't shatter it completely. Miss Rose?"

"Her left arm is shattered in three places, and I believe her eardrum has ruptured. The gauntlet is destroyed, but the damage to her arm looks worse than it is (2)." Goodwitch nodded and marked something on her clipboard.

Weiss perked up. Ruby sounded…strained. She'd seen Yang in worse conditions than this—occupational hazard—so it wasn't like she was afraid for Yang's life. Once the medic came Yang'd be fixed up in ten minutes—max. Then she'd just have to sleep it off for the next day or so. Nora'd be the same way, but she probably wouldn't sleep as much. Between having more energy naturally, and not depleting her Aura below the five percent mark, Nora'd probably back to normal by this evening.

Ruby kept a palm pressed to Yang's shoulder—keeping tabs on her condition.

Oh…her reaction was probably a result of feeling her sister's pain herself. Aura sensing was a different experience for everyone, but sometimes a really strong bond with someone could result in an empathic link. A familial bond between sisters would definitely qualify.

Still, no one else seemed to notice Ruby's strange tone, so she was probably fine. Not even Blake noticed, despite looking into the arena with rare attentiveness. The heiress bumped shoulders with the other girl in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. Weiss was still kind of new to this whole 'friend' thing and hadn't quite mastered encouragement.

Blake gave her a small smile and merely continued to watch the arena. Weiss shrugged and did the same. The two of them had an understanding—if there was a problem, about anything, they'd talk about it. Otherwise they respected each other's privacy enough not to push. It wasn't that they weren't good friends, just that they both understood the need for privacy. Unlike the other half of their team.

The medic arrived, and after determining Yang's injury more severe because of the eardrum, he started working on her. It was always weird to watch the gifted medics work (3). Bones unknotted themselves, skin regrew blemish free, and blood disappeared. Weiss could only imagine what was going on inside the girl's ear. As predicted, it was only a matter of minutes before the medic declared that Yang only needed rest, which she would get in the infirmary due to the severity of her aural depletion. Nora took even less time to heal, but the medic took her away on a gurney as well, citing her concussion as cause for a couple hours' observation—evidently it was a little more severe than Juane's sensing revealed.

Meanwhile, Goodwitch had retrofitted the arena and it appeared as structurally sound as it had been before Yang and Nora's battle.

Somehow Weiss found that less comforting than she normally would have.

Ruby was still in the arena—she'd met Juane in the middle as the medics worked, and even though the two of them were chatting happily enough, Weiss could see they were both paying more attention to their injured teammates. As they were taken away, the two of them began to walk back to the stands.

"Wait!" Goodwitch called. "There's still time for one more match. Miss Rose, you haven't gone this week—would you be willing to spar now?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. Goodwitch usually only had one or two members from a team go in a day—and Blake'd kicked the class period off with a spectacular beat-down of team CRDN.

For her part, Ruby looked less than enthusiastic, which was downright abnormal. She wasn't quite as bloodthirsty as Yang, but she appreciated any chance to show her giant scythe off. Weiss supposed she was probably just worried for Yang, or feeling the aftereffects of the sensing.

Goodwitch shouldn't be making her spar right now—the professor was usually more sensitive than that. But it really had been a long time since Ruby sparred in class—if she didn't go now then she'd have to wait until Monday, and it would be a full two weeks of inactive class time.

Juane seemed to have noticed Ruby's odd reaction as well. He stepped forward, between Ruby and Goodwitch. "How about partner sparring? Ruby and Weiss vs. Me and Pyrrha."

Weiss nodded. That would be acceptable, and neither Juane nor Pyrrha would take advantage of whatever mood was possessing Ruby right now.

Goodwitch considered the two leaders before her, then nodded. "I suppose it is Friday. Partner spar it is." Weiss was already out of her seat, Pyrrha rising next to her. "But you and Miss Nikos will have to wait for another time—the two of you both went on Wednesday. Instead…Miss Georgiana and Miss Flap. Please make your way down to the arena."

Weiss paused in her motion, shared a look with Blake, and began moving down the stairs—as quickly as she could while still maintaining her dignity.

Regila Georgiana and Taylor Flap, from team GRIT. They were archetypal female bullies in the same way Cardin was the typical male buffoon who picked on those who were physically weaker. They preyed on people with potential self-esteem issues and who they felt could be a threat to their social status. Regila was the team leader, Taylor her second in command. They were the kind of people others accused Weiss of being—cold, vindictive and cruel (4).

More importantly, they both hated Ruby with an unrestrained passion.

Weiss really wasn't sure why. As annoying as Ruby could be sometimes, she was likeable. It was probably related to Ozpin pulling Ruby ahead by two years—a prodigy was a threat to someone's self-image if they imagined themselves the best, which Regila and Taylor most definitely did. They were talented, sure, but they were nowhere near the best. Last time Pyrrah fought Regila it was over in thirty seconds, and Weiss knew for a fact she'd outscored them on every exam this year—Ruby did too.

No, those girls had nothing to be so proud of, and certainly no grounds to be so cruel to Ruby.

They'd been torturing her for weeks now.

They taunted her in the halls with cutting nicknames and jibes, and turned once-ambivalent or even friendly classmates against the poor girl. They started rumors, wouldn't let her use the restroom without harassment, and generally just treated Ruby with as if she were scum unworthy of kissing Regila's pink pumps. Team RWBY all had the same schedule, along with team JNPR, and so the one saving grace about the whole thing was that they rarely got the chance to be alone with her team leader.

They hadn't gotten the teachers involved yet—Ruby insisted, and honestly if they couldn't handle a problem like a bully on their own they probably shouldn't be training as huntresses (5). It was just unfortunate that Ruby was two years younger, awkward around strangers, and generally too nice to stand up for herself. Just look at how their own partnership started out.

Besides, the problem would resolve itself best if Ruby took care of it herself. Much like Juane did with Cardin, the best way to stop a bully was to make it clear that their…antics…wouldn't be tolerated. Weiss, for all that she had usually been at the top of the social hierarchy due to her family name, knew that as well as anyone. Everyone dealt with bullies at one point or another.

She passed Juane as she crossed the threshold from stands to arena. He looked worried and shared a glance with her as she rushed past. Weiss approached her teammate and conducted a quick assessment.

Ruby stood in the center of the arena, waiting for Weiss. She actually looked okay from what Weiss could see. Not apprehensive or worried, but…there was something else, lurking beneath the surface. Her eyes glinted with something uncharacteristic, an almost manic sort of anticipation. An edge of something dangerous simmered beneath her calm.

Well Ruby always did excel in combat. Maybe she was just anticipating a fair fight with her tormentors.

Weiss nodded at her partner and Ruby grinned back. Weiss relaxed. Ruby didn't seem so off when she was smiling.

Just then, Regila and Taylor stepped down to the sandy floor.

Regila, as per usual, wore an atrocious shade of pink from head to toe. She was tall and blonde—not willowy, but nowhere near as curvy as Yang or Blake. She had sharp eyes, indicating some kind of intelligence, but Weiss couldn't for the life of her figure out why she was applying it to something as stupid as the social pecking order. Behind Regila was the significantly less stylish Taylor, but there was something distinctly snake-like about her countenance. It made Weiss's skin prickle and the hairs on her scalp stand up.

Of the two, Weiss would peg Taylor as the more dangerous one any day.

Regila wore a nasty smirk on her garishly pink lips. Taylor merely looked on her and Ruby passively, as if bored.

The heiress felt a hot surge of anger. If there was one thing Weiss hated more than anything in the world, it was being dismissed. Taylor was going to _pay_.

And Weiss Schnee delivered on her promises.

Besides, that would allow Ruby to engage with the social ring-leader—the one who'd been causing so much trouble for her. She would gain more self-confidence that way, and possibly stem off the verbal assaults.

She suggested her plan to Ruby in low tones, who nodded. "Works for me," she said brightly, "Just try to make sure you don't get out of my sight lines. The arena is small, so I have to be careful about my bullet trajectories in order to avoid hitting things I don't want to hit."

Weiss nodded. She'd already taken that into account, but hearing it emphasized the necessity.

Unfortunately, Regila was apparently possessed of rather excellent hearing—she caught their conversation from the other end of the arena.

"Aw, are you worried, Chipmunk? Afraid you won't be able to handle the borrowed gun?"

Despite being one of the tamer ones Regila had coined, it really was a cruel nickname. Ruby was so puppy-like sometimes it was hard not to be reminded of small furry creatures. Treating that quality like it was something to be ashamed of just made Weiss angrier.

Ruby just rolled her eyes "Of course I'm careful—anyone who builds a high-powered semi-automatic sniper rifle _should_ be in a small space."

Weiss was proud of her, and a little exasperated as well—Ruby was always so much more confident when she had a weapon in her hands. If only she would translate that to everyday life, she wouldn't have this particular bullying problem.

Professor Goodwitch, bless her, chose that moment to start them off. "You know the rules girls—no lethal intent. Points will be given for the team that works together the best, as well as the one that wins. Good luck."

The timer counted down, and Weiss raised Myrtenaster to the classic starting position, left arm raised above her head, right foot leading with her weapon. Next to her, Ruby hefted Crescent Rose and extended the blade to full scythe-mode. Weiss smirked when Regila's facial expression twitched and Taylor's eyes narrowed. Weiss had to admit, Crescent Rose was rather intimidating when it wasn't swinging in time with Myrtenaster's strikes. Perhaps especially so, in these two's cases. They had a reason to be afraid.

Of course, they probably didn't realize Ruby didn't have a vicious bone in her body. She was devious, cunning, and possibly even ruthless—but not vicious. It made her a lot less scary.

For their part, Regila brought out her weapon—a gold six-foot tall, thin metal staff, complete with a mechanism that allowed it to convert to two charged escrima batons and combine again to form a bladed cross which the girl was fond of throwing. Taylor had a small dagger which could assume a seemingly endless array of forms—from long-range energy weapons to a Bo staff. In all the spars Weiss had witnessed, Taylor used whatever form seemed to suit her for the moment.

The countdown dropped to zero and the buzzer went off.

Weiss leapt into action at the same time Ruby seemed to explode into rose petals. She'd fought by her partner's side too many times to be distracted by such a thing, and used the other team's moment of hesitation to set up a series of glyphs around the arena, effectively creating launch pads for herself and Ruby, if she chose to use them.

Ruby was the undisputed champion of speed—but Weiss liked to think she could make a good bid for second place given enough time to place a glyph or two.

She shot toward Taylor in perfect form, Myrtenaster gripped with both hands, right hand guiding while the left provided power, her left knee pinned in a lunge as she slid along the ground with icy dust exhaust flying in her wake. In her periphery she saw a streak of red descending on Regila's charging form, and knew Ruby had engaged.

Taylor had just enough time to convert her dagger into a rounded shield before Weiss descended on her. A shield was an unfortunate choice—her weapon was uniquely suited to circumventing such impediments.

She caught Taylor on her left shoulder—right where her green off-the-shoulder top became a sleeve—and jumped back, assessing even as Taylor moved to defend her weak points. Weiss felt a slight drain that told her Ruby was using her glyphs—even if she couldn't see the red blur that indicated Ruby was flying around here somewhere.

Taylor's shield glowed, and Weiss risked a glance at Regila to determine if her partner needed help. Regila seemed thrown—worried, even. Weiss smirked and refocused on her opponent. Her shield was becoming a broadsword.

Interesting. Taylor was tiny—and looked nowhere near strong enough to wield the thing appropriately. Then again, Ruby wielded Crescent Rose with incredible skill, and the scythe probably weighed more than its maker did.

It was the same colors as the dagger and shield—gold metal with thick black etching, and a wicked point. Weiss kept her distance, wanting the other girl to attack first. Taylor swung the blade in her hands once, as if testing its weight, and then attacked—faster than Weiss was expecting, but not nearly fast enough to hit her. She engaged for a moment, curious about the other girl's skill with the sword.

Immediately she understood that Taylor was more than proficient with the weapon—but there was a subtle latency in her movements, suggesting this wasn't her primary method of combat. Interesting. Taylor was testing her as much as Weiss was testing the bully. Even though they were in the same class, the two of them had never sparred before, and an actual fight was different than observation, especially when Semblances were considered. Weiss knew her glyphs were often disorienting to people since their functions were varied and often indiscernible until she used them. Taylor, like Pyrrha, was very subtle about her Semblance—Weiss had her suspicions, had heard rumors, but she had nothing concrete.

Weiss disengaged again, assessing. She risked a glance to Ruby. In some ways, the devastating nature of her weapon was a detriment to her sparring. There was no "safety" on Crescent Rose, and Ruby had to be very, very careful in order to avoid permanently injuring or even killing whoever she was sparring with. It gave her opponents a certain advantage that was difficult to overcome.

And it would seem Regila was taking full advantage of it.

But there was no time to worry about that until after she finished with Taylor—she sent an impediment glyph at Regila and turned her attention to her opponent.

The broadsword changed again—now it was lighter, almost a copy of Myrtenaster, but there was no dust chamber and the actual blade was shorter. Weiss raised an eyebrow. Taylor was trying to beat her at her own game.

Well, no matter. The bully had no idea what she was initiating. Weiss grew up sparring against the best fencers in the world—including her own father. And they'd never gone easy on her.

She rushed her opponent—there was no way Taylor was as good as her, and she was never very good at being reactionary anyway.

She used three glyphs to enhance her speed, and sailed forward, dust chamber spinning. She raised her sword to strike the other shoulder—the one on Taylor's protected side, just to prove her point. But Taylor wasn't moving her weapon correctly, and instead of thrusting forward, she moved her hand behind her. Weiss was a few feet away—about to strike—but suddenly Taylor's blade flashed, and she wasn't swinging an epee inexpertly but twirling a spiked mace at intense speed.

Weiss was too close to abort entirely—thinking quickly she twirled the dust chamber and placed a glyph beneath Taylor's feet. Instead of striking at her shoulder, Weiss tagged her own glyph, right between the bully's feet, and leapt to the right.

She almost made it out cleanly—but even as Taylor's lower body became encased in ice, the blonde girl swung and landed a crushing blow to Weiss' left shoulder. She felt the spikes rip through the pristine cloth, but her aura protected her from anything more serious than bruising.

She continued running and leapt up, using one of her glyphs to perch on upside down as she considered her opponent.

Taylor no longer held a mace—it was now a pickaxe. The blonde girl swung it once, hard, at her feet. The thick ice holding her in place shattered entirely with one blow.

What…?

Weiss checked her chamber—she'd used high-grade, aura-infused blue dust for that attack, mined in the Schnee quarry and refined through several stages of superheating and sifting. Expensive, but worth every cent. This dust had saved her life—and her friends' lives—several times. It should not have broken that easily—or at all, for that matter. Not from an attack like that.

She narrowed her eyes at Taylor and rolled her left shoulder experimentally. Bruised, but not broken. Not a performance-reducing injury.

Taylor was shaking off the last of the ice, and Weiss took the opportunity to, once again, check on her team leader.

Regila had engaged Ruby in a furious hand-to-hand, and Weiss nearly aborted her own fight to switch partners. Ruby was absolutely awful at hand-to-hand—the only thing saving her right now was her speed and extreme flexibility.

But then Ruby landed a solid punch to Regila's kidney and kicked off her shoulders, sending the older girl to the ground before she sprung up again. Weiss breathed. Ruby would be fine.

The heiress redirected her attention to her opponent—and none too soon. Now completely freed from the ice, Taylor's pickaxe had morphed to a bow and arrow. Its gleaming length stretched from Taylor's head to her knees, and the black string snapped with a low hum as it fired its deadly projectiles. Weiss jumped from her glyph to another, and another, using them to enhance her speed and distance.

Weiss could tell immediately that this was Taylor's preferred method of combat. There was a certain understated skill and confidence about her that hadn't been there before, and the arrows were fired with a precision and speed that spoke to years of practice, for hours each day. There was a dedication behind that Weiss could respect.

But—how was she even firing projectiles? She considered the question as she leapt above the arena grounds, altering speed and direction to prevent her movements from becoming predictable, occasionally throwing a distortion glyph or three at both Taylor and Regila. If her golden dagger had the ability to morph into a seemingly unlimited number of weapons, a feat that Ruby probably salivated over, then how could she separate it into different parts—and fire them? In uncontrolled conditions there would be no guarantee of retrieving them, and even now it would probably hamper her versatility—how could she change the bow and arrow into something else if she didn't have all the pieces?

Speaking of, where had she been hiding all this metal? The dagger had barely been six inches long—how could she have compacted the metal needed for the broadsword into that tiny dagger? For the mace? How exactly did one hide a chain within a dagger? It was like there was more matter—

Matter. The ice. There was no mechanism for the transformations—there was just a glow and—

"I didn't take you for a coward, Schnee! What a disgrace."

Weiss turned—not to respond but to plan an offensive attack—but then pain flared through her right calf.

 _Dammit_! She looked down. The arrowhead was buried in the muscle of her calf, just in front of the Achilles tendon. Judging from the angle, Taylor used her own glyph to bounce the arrow off and catch her non-fatally. The wound was incapacitating, but it was well within the limits of acceptable injury to a classmate. The arrows were, apparently, aura-infused—they would have to be to subvert her own defenses like this. Thankfully, her own aura was stopping the bleeding, so she wasn't dripping blood everywhere, and so far it was numbing the pain. Weiss tested her weight experimentally against the next glyph and found that if she wanted to fight she'd have to do so on one leg.

She may have underestimated Taylor. This was a calculating, rational attack that required a considerable degree of skill. The girl would make an excellent fencer if she ever chose to devote time to that. Not that Weiss would be suggesting it.

"Weiss!" A panicked cry called. It was Ruby. Weiss sent a glyph at Regila in response, and the blond girl's pink pumps caught on fire—an unspoken means of saying _don't get distracted, you fool, I'm fine_.

She sliced the shaft off, close to the skin but not enough that the arrow would be pushed deeper. Myrtenaster's sharp blade was kept it from pulling. She double-checked the wound, to make sure she wasn't missing anything. Weiss figured she would need to see a medic after this, but she was okay to continue fighting.

Speaking of, she knew how she was going to win.

Weiss jumped to a point directly above Taylor, and sent her a vicious smile, aware that several drops of her own blood were spotting her cheeks. Taylor was just startled enough to falter in her relentless shooting for a moment.

"I know what your Semblance is," Weiss stated calmly, but with an edge of vicious glee. Taylor's look of mute shock was almost a balm to the soul.

The shock quickly morphed to a dark rage though, and suddenly there was a previously unmatched barrage of arrows coming at her. Weiss smirked, and threw up a massive glyph between herself and Taylor—and six in a circle around that one, each one angled to the center, as if to create a giant, suspended track for Weiss to run through.

But they were merely one giant speed enhancer for anything that passed through them.

The glyph she set up first was an icy blue—and also transparent. It caught and rebounded the arrows Taylor fired at Weiss, forcing the blonde to move. As she rolled, Weiss threw a black targeting glyph under Taylor's feet—and made herself the missile.

Immediately she was pulled toward the other girl, led by her navel. Weiss kept her injured leg neatly pinned, ignored the twinges in her shoulder, and plowed on with enhanced speed. Her chamber spun dutifully, and she descended on her prey like some vicious snow-hawk, she broke through her own repelling glyph, which just enhanced her speed, and—

And there was an arrow she hadn't accounted for—about to hit her in the right shoulder, and she couldn't twist away—

A red blur flew by and suddenly the arrow was gone.

Weiss didn't stop to think about it, just rotated to the fire cartridge and descended.

She came so fast that Taylor didn't even have time to defend herself—Myrtenaster's hilt slammed into Taylor's face, and the girl impacted the wall behind her with incredible force, the assault fueled by ejected flame. Weiss herself hit the ground rolling—but the damage to her leg meant it was still rather painful.

She looked up to check on her opponent. There was no permanent damage done, but Taylor's aura dropped below the fail line, and she was called out of the fight. She sent Weiss a venomous glare that promised retribution.

Weiss rolled to her stomach, about to push herself up, when she felt Ruby appear next to her. Weiss brushed rose petals out of her face—a pretty, if rather irritating, side effect of Ruby's Semblance—and shot a challenging look at her partner.

Predictably, Ruby ignored it and, smiling, offered a hand instead.

"Good job," she chirped, but Weiss could see she was worried. "You're injured though."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm fine." She checked her aura meter, and was surprised to note that she was still sitting at forty percent—more than enough to help Ruby out from a distance, since she wouldn't be much use in close quarters. Ruby still had fifty percent of her aura. Weiss looked over her partner. Physically she seemed alright—her combat leggings had several tears, but her aura protected her from scratches, and her left sleeve was smoking, which probably meant at some point Regila had pulled out the electric escrima batons.

Speaking of, Regila was currently glaring at them from across the arena. Overhead, Weiss could see she…still had half a tank. Weiss winced. Ruby was severely handicapped by the limits of the spar.

She looked at her partner. "I can provide backup. Go finish this."

Ruby grinned and was gone with a gust of wind and scattered red petals.

Immediately, Regila had her defenses up, her batons charged, and even as Ruby appeared behind her, swinging the deadly scythe at her thigh, Regila's left baton moved to cover and block while her body swung over the blade, the lightning-charged baton in her right hand moving toward Ruby's unprotected chest.

Ruby used Crescent Rose's long shaft to bat Regila's arm away, and she sped herself from danger. The look of absolute rage that flickered over Regila's features indicated just how many times she'd been too slow today.

Weiss threw a glyph that would impede Regila's movements somewhat, which did nothing to relive the girl's frustration.

Ruby appeared behind the girl and two steel-toed boots connected with her right side as Ruby used the scythe as a lever to propel herself. Not a terrible blow on its own, but Weiss' glyph was still active, and the resulting whiplash increased the damage as the girl was thrown back to the ground.

Regila's aura level dropped another five percentage points. She screamed in frustration, slapping the ground with her palm.

"Fine!" she shouted, "Since you like outnumbering your opponents!"

It was nonsensical and inaccurate. It was a fair fight, and no one was coming to this girl's aid. It was only a school sparring match.

But from somewhere behind her she heard a stunned Taylor shout a protest—along with the rest of team GRIT.

That…that did not bode well.

Regila pushed her crackling escrimas back into its original staff form and used it to stand. She turned to Ruby, who'd taken a position near Weiss, obviously wanting to asses before charging in.

"She hasn't used her Semblance once," Ruby mumbled.

Weiss nodded, and whispered, "I think that's about to change."

Regila had an ugly sneer on her pretty face. "Get ready to see what power really looks like!" She declared, and tapped the ground three times with the butt of the staff.

The ground below their feet shook, the very sand shimmering. Weiss couldn't help but think it was a shame that Goodwitch's efforts from the last round would be wasted when Regila destroyed the arena again.

And then shadows started forming. Just black spots at first, but growing, and rising—hundreds of shadows, each separate and different from its fellows. Then they started to combine—different shapes and sizes, different numbers, until they were no longer shadows anymore, but took a physical form. They looked…they were almost like...

"Grimm," Ruby breathed.

And indeed they were. As they took more definite forms, the shadows developed features—there were beowolves and boarbatusks, creeps and several Ursai, a Deathstalker and _two_ King Taijitus. Over thirty Grimm now crowded the arena, by Weiss' count—and three of their number were easily deadly enough to down the average lone student.

"My God," Weiss whispered.

She started to feel it—that odd, familiar deflating sensation that began in one's core when in the presence of a Grimm. As if everything that comprised her identity was slowly draining, like water from a punctured balloon. Intellectually, she knew it was the result of her aura encountering the creatures. They were alive and yet did not possess aura, so her own tried to counteract it—a natural response.

That didn't really help her overcome the feeling of growing fear at the sudden numbness. Normally she could control it better than this—normally she could bind her aura, prevent it from interacting with the Grimm—but today she was injured and her aura was draining fast. Frankly, with this many Grimm in this tight a space, she was surprised she didn't just pass out completely.

"My Semblance," Regila smirked, "lets me control the Grimm."

Weiss looked at her, unable to believe what she was hearing. What kind of monster was this girl, for that to be the ability of her soul? Regardless, this was insane! She was placing them all in danger! What—what exactly did she hope to accomplish?

The Grimm started circling them, the calm center in the eye of a nightmare storm.

Weiss took a step back instinctively, and pain flared through her right leg as she shifted all her weight to it. She gasped and fell as her leg gave out and she found herself flat on rear. Weiss growled and tried to stand, but her aura was draining fast and the pain was returning worse than before.

She supposed she should be grateful she stayed in the game long enough to finish off her opponent, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to feel any appreciation while the roiling mass of black circled her, spitting and growling, and she herself was unable to do anything about it.

Which meant her partner had one more handicap and about thirty more enemies.

Ruby would have to forfeit. There were just too many Grimm to fight, protect Weiss, and finish Regila.

Weiss looked at Ruby guiltily. It would have been really good for her to win this fight—both socially and in terms of self-confidence. Now, because Weiss let herself get hurt, she'd have to give it up.

But Ruby didn't look upset or disheartened. She didn't even seem phased. Instead she looked…calm. Actually, no, she looked almost pleased. That odd, dangerous undercurrent that had been present earlier was stronger, and accompanied by a kind of thrilled energy.

Actually, Ruby's aura…was reacting to the Grimm as well. And Weiss could sense it growing, sense it activating and expanding. Almost like…she'd been waiting for this?

It was…unsettling. Weiss was not used to a Ruby who was gleeful at the prospect of a fight.

Her team leader turned to Weiss. "I'm going to work from the inside out. Keep yourself protected, alright?

Weiss gaped. "What? Are you just going to leave me here? And how do you expect to take them all down by yourself?"

Ruby smiled, but there was no joy behind it. "You'll be fine. And I'll go after the easy ones first."

Weiss blinked. "Goodwitch will call the match—this is insane."

Ruby shrugged. "She hasn't yet."

And she was right. Where was Goodwitch anyway? This was endangerment—

Their professor was standing on the top railing, looking tightly concerned and extremely disproving, but she wasn't actually making any moves to stop the proceedings.

"It's not actually endangerment unless she lets them kill us," Ruby explained.

Weiss looked at the Grimm surrounding them uneasily. "Do you really think she has that much control over them?"

Ruby didn't respond, which she supposed was answer enough.

Through the roiling mass of black, Weiss saw Regila raise her staff, and by unspoken instruction the Grimm began to descend.

Ruby was faster.

The monsters twitched toward them and suddenly there was a _pop pop pop_ as Ruby propelled herself forward. Rose petals exploded into existence all around her, as if the young girl was everywhere at once. Weiss blinked and suddenly five monsters were cleaved in two, spraying red rose petals instead of blood. The flowers brushed against her heels, her face, her hair, and Weiss tingled where they blushed against her, a curl of something strange rising in her chest.

Body parts slid from the monsters, severed by an unseen force. Weiss could hear the furious clicking as Crescent Rose's bullets fired and the blade extended and contracted, but she could see nothing. Weiss fired glyph after glyph at the targets she could see, erecting barriers around herself to prevent a Grimm from getting the drop on her.

Scattered petals mixed with Grimm bodies before they dissolved, and the arena was soon covered in red—so thick she could not distinguish the difference between roses and blood. The sight made something stir inside her chest.

 _Shnick. Shnick. Shnick_.

Weiss could hear the scythe descend, time after time, and more petals spiraling in an unearthly breeze with every swing. Red brushed against her clothes, and body parts piled up, but there was something oddly…satisfying about it.

That didn't disturb her nearly as much as it probably should have.

There was something odd about this whole thing, actually, something she couldn't place her finger on—there was a sick feeling building inside her, an almost nervous energy that made her want to move and run and _kill Grimm_ , despite the pain in her leg. The draining sensation was gone, and Weiss would have congratulated herself on her control if she wasn't absolutely sure she'd done absolutely nothing to earn it back. Instead there was a…something, crawling inside her, begging to be freed…

Ruby stopped beside her for half a second, and locked eyes just long enough for the scythe to make one propelled swing around its wielder.

Silver eyes—like the moon. Her cloak was shedding roses.

The feeling in her gut intensified. She could no longer keep her glyph hand from shaking with her need to move, propel forward. Only the barest of survival instincts kept her from standing and running forward into the fray.

Weiss shook her head, trying to clear it as Ruby popped forward, decimating the Grimm. The bigger ones, at least, seemed content to hang back for now, or at least Regila wasn't telling them to attack yet. Maybe she couldn't control them all at once?

She shivered. The thought of those Grimm, sitting there waiting for their turn to be executed, made her blood _sing_ with need to hunt, kill, destroy—

Weiss blinked. What was wrong with her? Why was she being like this? It was crazy, it was…

A Beowolf broke the line, somehow making it past both the invisible whirlwind that was Ruby and Weiss' glyphs. It lumbered towards her, slow and massive. Weiss raised her sword, and waited for the monster to descend on her, ready to plunge it into the creature's skull through his jaw.

It was five yards away. Three. One.

The beast raised its massive paw, and the maw lined with razor-sharp canines opened and aimed low, as if to clamp around her throat.

Weiss struck. She launched upward, using her good leg, until she was able to attack the beast. One well-placed blow cut off the raised paw, and the next move skewered the beast's skull to Myrtenaster's hilt.

Grimm blood sprayed, irreparably staining her white clothes, soaking her skin. She was standing on one leg, her right one barely taking weight. The sword was lodged in the body of the Grimm carcass, she was the victor, she was fine, she should check on—

Ruby.

The Grimm blood turned to fire and the insistent urge to kill these creatures became the ache of desperate need.

Weiss dislodged her sword, the carcass fell away, dissolving as she watched. The blood remained, and she ignored it even as she fired propulsion glyph after propulsion glyph around her.

Kill, kill, kill, these creatures must die. She had to shed their blood feel it burn her skin like acid to know her strikes were valid.

She felt no pain. How could she be in pain when her muscles sang with such purpose? How could she stop when there was sin to wipe clean?

In some distant corner of her mind Weiss knew she should feel pain, that she should be protecting her leg rather than risk exacerbating the injury. But that voice seemed small in the face of her desperate, acute desire, so bloody and thick inside of her, to destroy and never stop.

She slew five before she decided it wasn't enough, not to fulfill this purpose, and turned to the larger prey.

The larger of the two Taijitu was closest, and she moved toward it, propelled by bloodlust rather than common sense. She was limping, and warning bells went off again. Perhaps she should stop. Wait for Ruby.

But even as she thought the name she pushed herself further, further, until she was leaping onto the giant snake's back and running toward its great black head. The other end of the beast came toward her, preparing to catch her in its jaws and defend itself. Weiss tensed, prepared to jump—it was all about the timing—

Her leg turned to fire, pushed beyond its limits. She gasped, tripped as her muscles refused to support her weight, and she was rolling of the creature's back in freefall toward the ground, and in the perfect position for the white head to pluck her from midair. Her head was on fire and still her blood screamed to _kill, kill, kill_ —

A red blur. A burst of petals. A crimson moon. Small, wiry arms grabbed her by the waist.

Then the world turned dark.

* * *

Weiss came to awareness slowly. From the depths of unconsciousness, the first thing she heard was a familiar, irritating breathing pattern. She shifted, trying to return to dark tranquility, but something trapped her arm, and she couldn't feel her leg.

Instincts borne of her training woke her then, and Weiss found herself fighting a haze of drugs. Everything felt fuzzy, dizzying. It would be so much easier to simply return to sleep…

But it was too late, her vision cleared enough for her to realize her surroundings were unfamiliar, and sleep became impossible.

It was dark out. The lightly broken moon was framed in the window, and the walls were some kind of pastel, but it was impossible to tell in the dark. There were no pictures or drawings, but thin curtains on either side of her, and a tiled ceiling. There was an IV in her wrist, and a brace on her leg.

Ah. She was in the infirmary. And that meant the familiar breathing was…

Yep. Yang. She'd recognize that particular chainsaw anywhere.

Weiss blinked once more, trying to clear the fuzziness from her vision. There was an empty chair to her right, and to her left…

She was proud of her ability to suppress her startle reflex, and it proved quite handy now.

"Professor Ozpin?" She whispered. Weiss knew from experience that Yang would sleep until she wanted to wake, even with klaxons ringing in her ear. "What are you doing here? Where are Ruby and Blake?" Too late she realized the bluntness of her words and cringed internally.

The gray-haired man did not seem to have noticed though, and might have smiled. "Your teammates were quite worried for you and Miss Xiao Long. They refused to even sleep in your dorm tonight. An hour ago I convinced them to get some rest, and Miss Rose extracted a promise from me to stay here with the two of you while they were indisposed." The headmaster took a sip of coffee, and the crooked glasses flashed even in the low light as he smirked. "I must say, it is the first time a student has ever coerced me into a bedside vigil simply by asking."

That did sound like Ruby. It made something warm fill in Weiss's chest as she pictured her partner begging with giant silver eyes that filled three-quarters of her face and a small pout on her lips. She figured even the strongest and cruelest of men might have trouble refusing that, and Ozpin was certainly not the later, even if he was surely the former.

To make matters worse for him, Weiss _knew_ Ozpin had something of a soft-spot for Ruby, and by extension her entire team. She had no idea why, and she didn't know if Ruby knew the reason, but the headmaster had obviously singled Ruby out from the rest. The point was, Ozpin was by no means indifferent to the girl, and that meant Ruby's puppy-dog look would be damn near crippling.

Seriously. The little redhead could make someone stroke from the weapons-grade cute she exuded sometimes. She was even cute when she was chopping things in half with a scythe bigger than her—

Weiss gripped the sheets. Blood became roses, dark disintegrated as the soft _shnick_ of the blade squelched through their bodies, somehow wet and clean at the same time.

"Miss Schnee?" The headmaster asked kindly, "Is something wrong?"

The moon was broken in the window, and she focused on the pieces floating farthest from the main body. A slow, quiet inhalation through her nose. Unnoticeable to a civilian—probably obvious to a trained Hunter.

"I'm sorry, Professor," She started, humble and contrite and proper as she would have behaved toward her father. "I just remembered…something." He waited for her to continue. "I was just wondering…why am I here? What happened?"

Ozpin sat back in the chair, "Ah, well that is an interesting question." A sip of coffee. "Tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

Weiss wrinkled her brow. "I was sparring in the arena for class. Taylor managed to damage my leg right before I took her out of the fight. Then…" Hordes of black, the eerie excitement on Ruby's face, "Regila used her Semblance to call Grimm into the arena." She spared a glance to see if the professor was at all surprised by this information, but she could not read his eyes. "I was injured, but I still had a fair amount of Aura left so Ruby and I formed a circle and I stayed in the center to give support. Ruby was doing all the heavy fighting." Weiss frowned. "I was distracted, so I don't know, but I think Ruby went after one of the bigger targets—a Beowolf broke the line and attacked me. I killed it and…" She stopped. Blinked. "That's it. After that I don't remember anything."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Really? Nothing at all?"

She shook her head. Paused. "Just…colors. Red and black. And a weird feeling, I suppose." Kind of like…well kind of like strength, but that wasn't correct…maybe determination? No it was more concrete than that. More like…clarity.

But that was too odd to say, so she just shrugged. "I'm not sure what it was, exactly. Just…odd. Like…purpose, I guess. Kind of." She waited for him to respond. He didn't. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more useful," she prompted, wanting him to continue where she left off.

Ozpin looked almost pensive, but she didn't know for sure—he was a hard man to read. "It's quite alright, Miss Schnee." But his mind still seemed to be elsewhere.

There was an awkward silence while Ozpin tapped his cane against the ground in a steady beat. Weiss wondered if he expected her to fall asleep with him there. If he did he was sadly mistaken.

Actually, there was another thing he was mistaken about—he never answered her question. "Sir, what happened after I killed the Beowolf?"

"Hmm…" he hummed. "That's actually what I originally came here to answer, and what I am still trying to figure out." Almost delicately, the professor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Do you think you are up for an interview right now?"

Weiss raised an eyebrow and nodded. She wasn't going to sleep anytime soon anyway.

"Very well," Ozpin said bluntly, before continuing in a softer tone "You started fighting Grimm offensively, at great and obvious detriment to your own health, until finally you tried to take on a large King Taijitu injured and alone, at which point Professor Goodwitch tried to stop the fight. The magical wards on the arena would not let her, however, because you were willfully endangering yourself. You ended up passing out in the midst of that battle, and I'm told you caused significant damage to your leg while fighting." A sip of coffee. "Miss Rose rescued you from impacting the ground rather suddenly, and managed to kill the beast as well. From there it was determined that you were too injured to continue, and Miss Rose continued the fight without you. She won, by the way."

Weiss was still too wrapped up in processing the information to be happy about that. It was just…odd. Aside from the fact that she couldn't remember any of this story, the contents were disturbing. What could have possibly motivated her to act in such a way, to risk permanent injury for a class performance?

It was uncharacteristic. Weiss Schnee did not take unnecessary risks. She calculated the odds, and then acted on the best possible path. She did not place herself or her teammates in undue danger. She did not act beyond her capabilities. Besides, she might be competitive, but she knew not to push herself too far in a meaningless fight.

What could have propelled her to do this? Why act so far against her own nature? Why couldn't she remember?

"I…don't remember that," Weiss choked out unnecessarily, uncertainly. Years of etiquette lessons forced her to respond to the words of her elder.

Ozpin nodded kindly. "I know."

In the next bed, Yang gave a louder snore than normal, and shifted in her sleep.

Ozpin shifted too. Weiss focused her attention on him, and noticed his body language. Leaning back. One leg crossed over the other, knee facing her head. Shoulders tilted ever-so-slightly inward. Focused eyes. If she was reading him correctly, he seemed…reluctant but intent.

"Miss Schnee," he began, "I want you to know something before I ask this next question." She raised her scarred eyebrow as a silent prompt. "I do not, and never will, mean your partner harm. In fact, I am doing my utmost to see her succeed. Can you believe that?"

Weiss's eyes widened. Where did that come from? Of course he didn't mean Ruby harm, she was a student! She was his _favorite_ student! His handpicked prodigy.

…of course, there was always the question of _why_ she'd been so special. Weiss had even questioned it earlier in this conversation. Ruby was certainly gifted as a huntress, and Weiss would even call her a prodigy given her age. But there was still a long way to go for her, and she was still physically much weaker than the rest of their classmates. Ruby easily could have remained at Signal and simply graduated with the rest of her class before coming to Beacon. She would have been more mature, more capable, and probably would have developed a similar reputation to Pyrrha's for her skill.

Weiss didn't know why Ozpin had pulled her ahead, and Ruby certainly hadn't indicated she had any idea. But Weiss had never, ever, had reason to think Ozpin didn't want the best for Ruby. Not once.

Until this moment, that is, when he made her suspicious. "I've believed it up until now, professor," Weiss stated primly.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, cocked his head. "Then I will reveal another truth: I have never told a lie."

Now Weiss raised her other eyebrow in a show of skepticism. Powerful people lied. It was just how it was. Ozpin was powerful, ergo Ozpin had lied, at least at some point or another. Maybe it was even to protect something, like the school or a student. Weiss could respect that. Lies were useful.

But to lie about lying? Weiss felt her respect for her headmaster drop a few points.

He must have sensed her growing distrust. "That is not to say I have not obfuscated or only told half-truths. I have lied by omission as well. But outright lie? Say the sky is green when it is really blue, or that the moon was whole rather than broken? Never." Ozpin leaned forward, still a foot away from the bed, and said quietly, "So you know I am not lying when I say I am only trying to protect Miss Rose, and indeed your entire team. I want to see all of you reach your full potential while you stay here at Beacon." He raised his left hand and touched his thumb to forefinger before placing it over his jugular.

Weiss actually gasped at the gesture. It was a vow of a Hunter, binding him to his word through his own Aura. Energy was channeled between the fingers, and if that vow was broken it completed a circuit through the pressure point attached to the second cervical vertebrae—instantaneous death or paralysis. The Hunter or Huntress who broke the oath was bound by their own Aura to commit suicide, and there was no resisting (6). The professor's eyes blazed as looked at Weiss, even in the near-total darkness. They were heavy eyes, and Weiss could not bring herself to look away. "I swear it, Miss Schnee, my interest is your team's well-being."

Weiss simply didn't know what to do. That vow was so incredibly dangerous. She'd never seen one performed before. They were unpredictable, sometimes going awry if not met entirely, or worded incorrectly. But Ozpin had sworn on his intentions, and he couldn't be lying about that or he'd already be dead.

So did she trust him? Well she trusted him with the safety of her team. And he'd certainly never given her the impression that he was a danger to any of them, especially concerning Ruby.

"I believe you, professor." She said quietly, subdued. "But why are you telling me this?"

Ozpin's gaze became impossibly heavier. "Because, I must ask you to tell me about your partner's Semblance."

Weiss simply gaped. She couldn't tell _anyone_ about Ruby's Semblance—that was an egregious betrayal of trust and respect! A Semblance was a reflection of the soul, an intimate power. Telling someone how one's own power worked was a display of deep and abiding trust and respect—not only because it gave away tactical advantage, but because it revealed so much of the self (7).

To tell someone about a Semblance that was not one's own without permission? Well not so long ago it was grounds for execution. It was at least grounds for terminating a friendship or partnership.

She opened her mouth to protest. He held up a hand. "Remember, I have your partner's best interests at heart. I am trying to help and protect her."

Weiss shook her head, trying to think of what to do. Ozpin had just given his word in the most permanent way possible, that he meant no harm to any of them. It was impossible to ignore a vow like that. Ozpin was obviously risking a lot to convince her to tell him of Ruby's Semblance. The problem was he wanted her to risk something precious too.

She did believe in the headmaster. How could she doubt him after such an iron-clad promise? But she needed more. She needed to know why…

"Why do you need to know?" Weiss asked fiercely. Protectively.

Ozpin swirled his coffee. "I cannot tell you that. You simply need to trust that I do, in fact, _need_ to know."

"But for whose benefit," Weiss asked venomously, feeling her anger rise. "Hers or yours?"

Ozpin merely chuckled, "Oh, both of us, I suppose."

Weiss glared. "And you can't ask Ruby herself?" She really was angry now—and more than a little scared at the choice she was facing. He should never have asked her to betray her partner, never.

"Oh I will—I just want to hear it from others first. A Semblance sometimes feels and acts differently in the eyes of the user and the eyes of those around them."

That was…valid. Her glyphs, for example all looked incredibly different and unique to her but to other people she knew they all appeared to be incomprehensible.

"You promise you're trying to help her?" Weiss finally asked. What if he knew something she didn't? what if Ruby was in some kind of danger?

"My greatest concern is her safety and happiness," he assured.

Weiss' fingers tangled in the sheets. Her knuckles clenched so hard they turned bone-white.

"Ruby's Semblance is speed," Weiss whispered tensely, angrily. At least Ozpin probably knew that much already, it wasn't a subtle power. "There doesn't seem to be a limit on how fast she can go, since she uses her aura to multiply the pace she's already set by an unknown factor, but there is a limit on how much speed she can control. Her speed affects the length of each of her strides and her ability to stop. She only uses it in short bursts during battle because of its difficulty to control. Theoretically, she could keep going in one long burst until her aura is depleted."

Ozpin nodded, eyes tense. "And have you ever felt anything odd when she was using it? Perhaps a sensation that made you uncomfortable, or something that felt unnatural?"

Weiss gave him a look. She was about to answer in the negative, and tell him again that Ruby's Semblance was purely physical, but then…

She thought of the first time the four of them had really worked together as a team. In the Emerald Forest, with the Nevermore. After cutting the giant bird's head off, Ruby had stayed at the top of the cliff in the end position. Rose petals fluttered around the girl, both from the blood of the giant bird and Ruby's cloak. The wicked scythe curved above the girl, so tall it almost disappeared into the fog. Weiss had watched with pride and no small amount of exhilaration as the beast fell down the cliff-face. But there had been another emotion there too, subtle but powerful. It had gone largely unnoticed in the moment, but looking back it felt remarkably similar to…

"In the Emerald Forest," she answered reluctantly. "After we'd killed the Nevermore. I felt kind of like I did in the arena but not as intense."

Ozpin hummed and looked down toward his lap. "I see."

He stood, and Weiss was actually happy to see him go, lest he force her to reveal some other secret. "Thank you for telling me, Miss Schnee." He turned to walk out, cane clicking. "I will send your friends in to see you shortly."

She felt a little better at the prospect. "Thank you," she said politely, hoping he'd simply leave.

Ozpin sighed. "I must ask you, Miss Schnee, to not tell anyone about this conversation. Or at least…not about my inquiry into Miss Rose's Semblance."

She was about to protest, because Ruby had a right to know, but then he turned back to her, and his glasses flashed in the moonlight.

"You will not tell Miss Rose, or anyone else, about my inquiry into Ruby's Semblance, because you do not remember the conversation after I said 'I know.'"

Weiss blinked. Once. Twice. Shook her head, trying to clear it. She had a headache…maybe she hit her head at some point during the fight?

There was a three-step gait…oh. Ozpin was leaving.

Yang breathed next to her. Weiss considered the conversation with the professor, and wondered what could have possibly possessed her to fight the way she did after killing the Beowolf. She was never that reckless!

But...her eyelids were heavy. She wondered if more drugs were flooding her system or if she was simply succumbing to their effects, now that her head hurt so much.

Weiss' eyes closed just as the door opened once more, two dark and familiar figures making their way forward.

The last thing she saw was a flash of red, and a rose petal fluttering down to her sheets.

* * *

(1) Nora is based on Thor, so I included an analogy to the Vikings in her fighting style. Berserkers were actually a thing. They were warriors who fought with a "trance-like fury," and they were considered to be blessed by Odin, if my five-minute online research is correct. If I've just given false information, please tell me and I'll be sure to correct it.

(2) We know next to nothing about how aura works. Presumably it's used as a tool to interact with the world-a means of sensing the world around them in the same way sight and touch work. So, why wouldn't aura be able to interact with other people's aura? This is one of the many made-up world building things I included in the chapter, because I thought it made sense.

(3) I find it hard to believe that no one has a Semblance related to healing in the entire realm of Remnant. Obviously people who don't go to one of the four hunter/huntress schools have awakened their auras, since there are smaller battle schools like Signal, or wherever everybody else went to school. Presumably people trained their Auras and Semblances there, and then did not continue to a place like Beacon, but rather did something else. So I figured there must be healers, and they would be highly coveted by a school like Beacon, where you have students beating each other to a pulp on a regular basis.

(4) I based these two's names and personalities off of iconic movie bullies. Kudos if you can guess who they are.

(5) I am in no way suggesting that a victim of bullying is at fault for their suffering. As someone who has experienced it myself, I have some very strong feelings against bullying. Weiss' point here is that bullying is a much smaller problem in the face of protecting the known world, and since Ruby is taking on that particular duty she should be able to handle this. Plus, as I learned myself, the best way to deal with a bully is to confront them and not let them bother you anymore, at least in my own experience.

(6) Basically, it's the RWBY version of swearing on the river Styx, in Greek mythology. Since they have means of manipulating their auras externally, as proved by the Grand Aura Transfer Machine, and internally, as evidenced by their actual use of it, I thought it wouldn't be so far fetched for Aura to be used as a means of binding the soul.

(7) Obviously, this is no longer a canon concept, what with Oobleck outing Nora's Semblance to _the entire freaking world on live television_ , but again, this made sense to me culturally. Obviously some Semblances are harder to hide than others, like Yang's and Weiss's. But aside from it being a tactical advantage to hide your Semblance, as Pyrrha did, a Semblance is also intensely personal. It's unique to the individual, and I can't imagine that it would make much sense to describe it freely and make it common knowledge. This is a cultural precept I've invented, but again, it makes sense to me. Why wouldn't you protect your Semblance as much as possible? And even if you can't hide what it does, why wouldn't you hide how it works?

You may have noticed some of the characters acting oddly. Ruby wasn't quite her normal, cheerful self, and Ozpin was more erratic and forceful than usual. This was intentional, I promise. And no, they're not OOC, Weiss was just an unreliable narrator who doesn't understand why they're behaving the way they are. Some of the clues are there though, so you the reader may be able to figure it out.

To be honest I'm still not sure how I feel about this chapter. I went a little overboard on the fight scenes since its been a while since I last wrote one. I would have taken Yang vs. Nora out, but frankly I didn't want to because that's a fight that I've always thought would be pretty cool in canon. Plus I had fun writing it.

One of the criticisms I've repeatedly heard about my writing is that I explain too much. I tried to avoid that here, and I'm kind of wondering if I didn't explain enough. Certain things are left intentionally vague, but certain other things should be clearer. If you guys could tell me what you thought, that would be great. I promise I like criticism.

And on that note, I'm going to head out. I love and cherish your reviews, but don't feel obligated to leave one. If you ask me a question, please sign in or just PM me. Otherwise I have no way to contact you.

Peace Out friends! And thanks for reading!


End file.
